Bill Text: VA HJR972 | 2019 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Celebrating the life of Robert C. Nusbaum.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)
Status: (Passed) 2019-02-21 - Bill text as passed House and Senate (HJ972ER) [HJR972 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2019-HJR972-Enrolled.html
WHEREAS, Robert C. Nusbaum, a pillar of the legal community and a Norfolk civic leader, died on October 31, 2018; and
WHEREAS, Robert Nusbaum was born in Norfolk and graduated from Maury High School before entering Harvard College in Cambridge, Massachusetts; his undergraduate education was interrupted by World War II, when he was called to service, first in the United States Army and then in the Office of Strategic Services, serving in the European theater until the conclusion of the war; after a post-war term at Harvard College, he enrolled at the University of Virginia Law School; and
WHEREAS, Robert Nusbaum began his legal practice in Norfolk with Alan J. Hofheimer, a relationship that endured for over 40 years; their firm grew to more than 30 attorneys and in 2004, Hofheimer Nusbaum merged with the law firm of Williams Mullen; and
WHEREAS, throughout over 65 years of legal practice, Robert Nusbaum was regularly named a Super Lawyer by Virginia Super Lawyers magazine and a member of the Legal Elite by Virginia Business magazine; he was one of only a few attorneys to be listed in seven categories in The Best Lawyers in America; and
WHEREAS, Robert Nusbaum was heavily involved in civic and philanthropic causes, serving on the Norfolk International Terminals board of directors, various boards of Sentara Health Systems, the board of the Library of Virginia, and the Institute for Reproductive Medicine at the Eastern Virginia Medical School; and
WHEREAS, always committed to building a forward-thinking community, in the late 1950s Robert Nusbaum publicly fought against massive resistance to the integration of Norfolk Public Schools; in the 1960s, he organized The Aid Fund, providing scholarships to talented African American students who were integrating Virginia's public colleges and graduate schools; he later conceived and funded the Center for the Study of Religious Freedom at Virginia Wesleyan University; and
WHEREAS, in recognition of Robert Nusbaum's contributions to furthering higher education in the African American community and his generous patronage, Norfolk State University named its Honors College after him in 2017; and
WHEREAS, numerous other organizations honored Robert Nusbaum for his civic involvement, activism, and philanthropic work, including the Cosmopolitan Club, the Norfolk Foundation, the Tidewater Council of the Boy Scouts of America, the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities, and Tidewater Community College; and
WHEREAS, Robert Nusbaum will be fondly remembered and greatly missed by his wife, Linda; his children, Robert and William, and their families; and numerous other family members and friends; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby note with great sadness the loss of Robert C. Nusbaum, a pillar of the legal community and a Norfolk civic leader; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the family of Robert C. Nusbaum as an expression of the General Assembly's respect for his memory.
